Protector for vault ventilators



July 14, 1931. o, MOCLINTOCK 6 1,814,839

' PROTECTOR FOR VAULT VENTILATORS Filed Sept. 18, 1930 Q i OZirerli/lfilzbiad Patented July 14, 1931 UNITED STATES OLIVER B. MCCLINTOCK, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO '0. B. MGCLINTOCK COMPANY, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, CORPORATION OF MINNESOTA.

PROTECTOR FOR VAULT VENTILATORS- I.

Application filed September 18,1930. Serial No. 482,754.

My present invention relates to bank vaults and like structures and more particularly vault ventilators therefor, and has for its object the provision of simple and highly efficient means for protecting a vault where a vault ventilator is installed to frustrate an attack by a burglar on the vault structure at this point.

Bank vaults, as is well-known, are of such a structure as to render the same substantially immune to successful attacks by burglars and are usually equipped with vault-protecting systems. In making such vaults burglarproof and fire proof they necessarily become 7 substantially air-'tightwhen their doors are closed. It is now quite the general custom in modern bank vault structures to install one or more vault ventilators, depending on the size of the vault, and of such'fresh-airconducting capacity as to sustain the life of a person or persons in the vault in case they are accidentally locked therein or forced into a vault by a burglar and the door locked. The type of bank vault ventilating installa- 1 tion, for which my invention is especially Well adapted, usually consists of a tubular casing or shell that extends completely through one of the walls of a vault and is rigidly and securely anchored thereto. The opening through this casing is normally closed by a closure therein from the inside of the vault, with its outer end flush or substantially flush with the outer face of the vault and locked in the casing fromythe inside of the vault. I

This invention provides for the confining within the closure of a bank vault ventilator a volatile liquid, which, when released, by a burglar in an attempt to mutilate the closure for the ventilator by any of his wellknown methods as the first step in gaining entrance to the vault, fills the room in which the burglar is working with a gas that prevents the burglar from continuing his attack on the vault.

To the above end, generally stated, the invention consists of the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

The drawing is a single View principally of the plug type inserted v in longitudinal central section showing a vault ventilatormountedin the wall of the vault and having the invention embodied therein. v

The numeral 1 indicates a fragment of one of the walls of a vault which may be of the usual concrete construction and'its inner face is indicatedat 2 and its outer face at 3.

The vault ventilator, as shown, includes a tubular casing or sleeve-like shell 44 which extends transversely through the wall and is solidly set in the concrete. This casing 4 is securely anchored to the wall '1 against endwise movementin either directionby a circumferentially extended outwardly projecting flange 5. This flange 5is'intermediate of the ends of the casing 4 and has on each of its sides short circumferentially spaced ribs 6 which extendlongitudinally of face 2 and into the vault.

An annularfaceplate 8 is rigidly secured in any suitable manner to the outer end of the casing 4, covers said end and the joint between the casing 4 and wall 1 and overlaps the wall face 3 forconsiderable distance outward of said casing. Formed in the face plate 8, at the axis thereof, is an aperture having the same diameter as the interior diameter of the casing4. A washer-like face plate 9 is telescoped over the inner end portion of the casing 4, appliedagainst the wall face 2 and secured to said casing in any suitable manner.

Normally the casing 4 is closed by a closure which, as shown, is a plug 10 in the formof a hollow cylinder having a close working fit with said casing. The outer end of the plug 10 is closed and substantially flush with On the outer end of ur OFFICE I A coupling pin 13 is provided for locking the plug 10 in the casing 4 from within the vault and extends through vertically aligned holes in the inwardlyprojecting end portions of said plug and casing and has on its upper end a handle 14. This handle 14 has an expanded lower end that engages the top of the casing 4 as a stop and limits the movement of the pin 13 into said casing and plug. In case a person should be locked in the vault, it is only necessary for him to lift the coupling pin 13 out of position and then by taking hold of the flange 12 withdraw the plug 10 from the casing 4 and thereby open the ventilating air passageway through said casing.

Referringnow in detail to the invention, the numeral 15 indicates a bottle of glass or other brittle or fragile material filled with a volatile liquid X which, when released,

will produce a gas and'the neck of said bottle is closed by a stopper 16. The bottle 15 is longitudinally positioned in the plug 10, at the axis thereof, and is encased and yieldingly held by a cushion 17 out of contact with the plug. 10 and against shifting movement therein. The :body of the cushion 17, as shown, is a sheet ofcorrugated paper board wrapped around the bottle 15. to form several plies that snugly fit between the casing l and the bottle 15 andhold said bottle with itslongitudinal axis in axial alignment with the casing 1. Each end of thecushion 17 comprises a plurality of disks formed from the same kind of material as the body of said cushion and these disksare axially aligned with the plug 10 andpressed thereinand firmly held against the respective ends of the bot-- tle 15. The disks forming the cushion at the neck of the bottle 15 are considerably more in number than-the disks at the bottomthereof and the innermost of these first noted disks are apertured to receive and hold the neck Qfthe bottle 15.

The bottle 15 is further cushioned in the plug 10 by two bodies of asbestos cement 18 and 19 placed in said plug in plastic form and allowed toset. The-cement'body 18 is between the cushion 17 and the closed outer end of-the plug 10 and the cement body 19 is in directcontact withthe cushion 17 at the-bottom ofthe bottle 15.

To hold the cushion 17 and the cement bodies '18 and 19 pressed toward the-closed outer end of the plug 10 and against endwise shifting movement away from said end of the plug 10, a plastic body of ordinary cement 20 is placed in the plug 10 in plastic form against the cement body 19 and allowed to set. This cushioning of the bottle 15 in the plug 10 securely holds the same from breaking in case the plug 10 is dropped or while handling the same to place the plug 10 in the casing l or remove the same therefrom, or, when the plug 10 is placed 011 the floor or other support when not in use.

In case a burglar breaks the bottle 15, by means of a drill, torch or an explosive during an attempt to remove the outer end portion of the plug 10 and form therein a cavity sufficiently large to receive and hold an explosive charge, the room in which the burglar is working will be filled with a gas formed by the escape of the volatile liquid X in the bottle 15 and drive the burglar from the room and prevent further attempt by him to gain entrance to the vault.

What I claim is:

1. A vault ventilator comprising a tubular casing adapted to be anchored in a vault wall, a hollow plug removably fitting the casing and having a closed outer end and a displaceable head closing the inner end thereof, a fragile container in the plug holding a volatile liquid, a cushion encasing the container and holdingthe same but of contact with the casing, a body of cushioning material between the closed outer end of the plug and the adjacent end of the cushion, a second cushioning body in contact with the other end of the cushion, and a body of cement secured in the plug against said second cushioning body and holding the two cushloning bodies and the cushion against shifting movement away from the closed outer end of the plug.

2. A vault ventilator comprising a casing adapted to be anchored in a vault wall and having a passageway, a removable portable hollow plug having a closed outer end and insertable into the casing to close said. passageway, a fragile container in the plug holding a volatile liquid, and a seal .closing the hollow plug outward of the container.

3. A vault ventilatorcompri ing a casing adapted to be anchored in a vault wall and having a passageway, a removable portable hollow plug having a closed outer endand insertable into the casing to close said passageway, a fragile container holding a volatile'liquid, and a cushion encasing the container and telescoped into the hollow plug.

4. The structure defined in claim 2 which further includes bodies of cushioning material interposed between the container and closed outer end of the plug and between the container and the seal.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

OLIVERB. MoGLINTOCK. 

